tech 646 analysis of research in industry and …lin/tech646/2011-f/lectures/tech646...1 tech 646...

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TECH 646 Analysis of Research in Industry and Technology

A Core CoursePurdue University’s M.S. in Technology

Industrial Technology/Manufacturing and IT/ Advanced Computer Applications Tracks

Indiana University- Purdue University Fort Wayne

Qualitative Research

Lecture note based on the Chapter6 and supplemental materials from the text book:

Cooper, D.R., & Schindler, P.S., Business Research Methods(11th edition), 2011, McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Paul I-Hai Lin, Professor http://www.etcs.ipfw.edu/~lin

1TECH 646 - Qualitative Research

Qualitative Research – Learning Objectives

How qualitative research methods differ from quantitative methods?

The controversy surrounding qualitative research.

The types of decisions that use qualitative methods.

The variety of qualitative research methods.


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PulsePoint: Research Revelation

Technorati, http://technorati.com/

Technorati, Top 100 Blogs, http://technorati.com/blogs/top100/

Technorati – an Internet search engine for searching blogs, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technorati


175 The thousands of new blogs started each day according to Technorati.

What is Qualitative Research?

It includes an “array of interpretive techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or less natural occurring phenomena in the social world.”

Aims to achieve an in-depth understanding of a situation :” How (process) and why (meaning) things happen as they do?”

It can be used in both the “data collection”, and “data analysis” stages of a research project.


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Data Collection Techniques for Quantitative Research


Focus Groups

Ethnography

ObservationData

CollectionTechniques

Individual In-Depth

Interviews

Case Studies

Action Research

Grounded Theory

GroupInterviews

Data/Content Analysis Techniques for Quantitative Research


Trace Evidence

Artifacts

OtherTechniques

Behavioral Observations

Textual Analysis (written/recorded

materials)

Debriefings of Observers

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Qualitative Research in Business & Industry


• Job Analysis

• Advertising Concept Development

• Productivity Enhancement

• New Product Development

• Benefits Management

• Retail Design

• Process Understanding

• Union Representation

• Market Segmentation

• Sales Analysis

Exhibit 7-1 Some Appropriate Uses for Qualitative Research (Industry/Technology)

Job Analysis

• Does the current assignment of tasks generate the most productivity?

• Does the advancement through different job levels incorporate the necessary training to foster the strongest performance

Productivity Enhancement

• What actions could we take to boost worker productivity without generating worker discontent?


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New Product Development

• What would our current market think of a proposed product idea?

• We need a products, but what should they be to take advantage of our existing customer perceived strengths?

• Which products will create the greatest synergy with our existing products in terms of ROI and distribution partner growth?



Process Understanding

• What steps are involved in cleaning a wood floor? How is our product perceived or involved in this process?

Sales Analysis

• Why have once-loyal customers stopped buying our service?


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Market Segmentation

• Why does one demographic or lifestyle group use our product more than another?

• Who are our customers and how do they use our product to support their lifestyle?

• What is the influence of culture on product choice?


Data Sources


People (individuals/groups)

Organizations/Institutions

Texts (published)

Environments

pp gEvents and happenings

Artifacts/ media p

Artifacts/ media products

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The Roots of Qualitative Research


Psychology

Anthropology

Communication

SociologySemiotics

Economics


Qualitative Research - Controversy

Too subjective an susceptible to human errors

Bias in data collection and interpretation

May provide an unstable foundation for expensive and critical business/industry decisions

Fundamental weaknesses: the results cannot be generalized


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Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

Quantitative Research

• “Precise count” of some behavior, knowledge, opinion, or attitude

• Survey – the dominant method

• No bias to the result: a researcher maintain a distance from the research


• Interpretive research

• Seeks to develop understanding through detailed description

• Builds theory but rarely tests it



Focus on Research

Research Involvement


Qualitative

• Understanding

• Interpretation

Quantitative

• Description

• Explanation

Qualitative

• High

• Participation-based

Quantitative

• Limited

• Controlled

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Research Design

Sample Design and Size


Qualitative

• Longitudinal

• Multi-method

Quantitative

• Cross-sectional or longitudinal

• Single method

Qualitative

• Non-probability

• Purposive

• Small sample

Quantitative

• Probability

• Large sample


Feedback Turn Around


Qualitative

• Shorter turnaround possible

• Insight development ongoing

Quantitative

• May be time consuming

• Insight development follows data entry

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Data Analysis


Qualitative•Nonquantitative; human•Judgment mixed with fact•Emphasis on themes

Quantitative•Computerized analysis•Facts distinguished•Emphasis on counts

Exhibit 7-3 The Process of Qualitative Research


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Pretasking Activities


Use product in home

Bring visual stimuli

Create a visual collage

Keep diaries

Construct a story

Draw pictures

Exhibit 7-4 Formulating the Qualitative Research Question


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Qualitative Research Methodologies

Sampling

Interviews

• Interviewer Responsibilities

• Projective Techniques

Individual Depth Interviews

• Managing the Individual Depth Interview

Group Interviews

• Focus Groups

• Other Venues for Focus Group Interviews

• Recording, Analyzing, and Reporting Group Interviews


Choosing a Qualitative Method


Types of participants

Researcher characteristics

Factors

Schedule

Budget

Topics

Project’s purpose

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Types of NonProbability Sampling


PurposiveSampling

SnowballSampling

ConvenienceSampling

Qualitative Sampling


General sampling rule:•Keep sampling as long as your breadth and depth of knowledge of the issue under study is expanding

•Stop. When no new insights are gained.

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Exhibit 7-6 The Interview Question Hierarchy


Interviewer Responsibilities


• Recommends topics and questions

• Controls interview

• Plans location and facilities

• Proposes criteria for drawing sample

• Writes screener

• Recruits participants

• Develops pretaskingactivities

• Prepares research tools

• Supervises transcription

• Helps analyze data

• Draws insights

• Writes report

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Elements of a Recruitment Screener (Exhibit 7-7)


• Heading

• Screening requirements

• Identity information

• Introduction

• Security questions

• Demographic questions

• Behavior questions

• Lifestyle questions

• Attitudinal and knowledge questions

• Articulation and creative questions

• Offer/ Termination

Interview Formats


Unstructured Interview•No specific questions or order of topics to be discussed• Customized interview to each participants

Semi-structured Interview•A few standard questions•Allow deviation

Structured Interview•Interview guide: detailed with specific question order, andthe way questions are to be asked.•Permit more direct comparability of responses and Maintain interviewer neutrality.

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Requirements for Unstructured Interview


Distinctions

Developed dialog

Interviewer skill

Probe foranswers

Interviewer creativity

Exhibit 7-5 Individual vs Group Interviews


Individual Interview Group Interview

Research Objective• Explore life of individual in depth• Create case histories through repeated interviews over time• Test a survey

• Orient the researcher to a field of inquiry and the language of the field• Explore a range of attitudes, opinions, and behaviors• Observe a process of consensus and disagreement

Topic Concerns• Detailed individual experiences, choices, biographies• Sensitive issues that might provoke anxiety

• Issues of public interest or common concern• Issues where little is known or of a hypothetical nature

Participants• Time-pressed participants or those difficult to recruit (e.g., elite or high-status participants)•Participants with sufficient language skills (e.g., those older than seven)• Participants whose distinctions would inhibit participation

• Participants whose backgrounds are similar or not so dissimilar as to generate conflict or discomfort• Participants who can articulate their ideas• Participants who offer a range of positions on issues

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Exhibit 7-8 Types of Research Using IDIs


Cultural interviews

Sequential interviewing

Life histories

Critical incident

techniques

Oral histories (narrative)

Ethnography (field-setting & unstructured)

Convergent interviewing

Types

Grounded Theory

Projective Techniques


q

Metaphor Elicitation Technique

Sensory sorts

pp g

Semantic (brand)

Mapping Data Collection

Techniques

Sentence Completion

Cartoons

Thematic Apperception

Laddering Association (word/picture)

Component Sorts

ImaginationExercises

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Projective Techniques – page 167


Anderson Analytics uses a cast of characters during interviewing.

www.andersonanalytics.com

Group Interviews – Group Sizes

Dyads (two people group)

Triads (three people group)

Mini-Groups (two to six people)

Small Groups (Focus Group – 6 to 10 people)

Super-groups (up to 20 people)


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Determining the Number of Groups


Scope

Number of distinct segments

Desired number of ideas

Desired level of detail

Homogeneity

Level of distinction

Group Interview Modes


Telephone

Online

Videoconference

Face-to-Face

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Combined Qualitative Methodologies

Case Study

• Objective

Obtain multiple perspectives of a single organization, situation, events, or process at a point in time or over a period of time

• Research problem: “How and why problem”, resulting in a descriptive or explanatory study

• Individual interviews + (sometimes) Group interviews + Record analysis + Observation

• Information: Company brochures, Annual reports, Sales receipts, Newspapers, Magazine articles, Direct observations


Combined Qualitative Methodologies

Action Research

• Objective

Designed to address complex, practical problems about which little is known – thus no known heuristics exist.

• The Process Scenario – studied

A corrective action is determined, planned, and implemented

The results of the action: observed and recorded

The action is assessed as effective or not

Repeat until a desired outcome is reached


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Triangulation: Merging Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies


Conduct studies simultaneously

Perform series:Qualitative,

Quantitative, Qualitative

Ongoing qualitativewith multiple waves

of quantitative

Quantitative precedes Qualitative

SUMMARY


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